Christmas Celebrations for Relatives Who Live in Nursing Homes

Holiday Checklists to Ensure Success

I can still remember the first year an aunt spent in a nursing home. There was no chance that she'd be able to attend our usual holiday festivities. This left us with a problem. We didn't want to exclude her but we had no idea how to bring Christmas cheer into the nursing home. Not only was there a relatively small room to work around but there were other residents who might be disturbed by festivities or noise. After talking with the nurses, however, we learned that plenty of other families had gotten over similar hurdles and learned how to manage holiday celebrations in nursing home environments. With the encouragement of the nurses and by networking with other families, we discovered that even if our relative couldn't celebrate Christmas by leaving the nursing home (that year), we could certainly bring the Christmas spirit to her. Here's how we did it:

We began with a Christmas checklist for our nursing home holiday celebration

At first, the idea of tackling a Christmas party in a nursing home seemed totally overwhelming. The nurses definitely came to our aid by encouraging us to think about what would create a festive atmosphere and by offering suggestions that would fit nursing home rules. After that, we simply focused on the elements that are an integral part of a Christmas party - holiday food, decoration, carols, entertainment. The nurse also reminded us not to forget that simply being there was an important part of the day - and encouraged us to include other residents in our holiday celebrations since some of them didn't get visitors. It was an important reminder to get beyond ourselves and think of others.

Start your preparations with the nursing home gift shop. You're like to find some easy Christmas decorations and gifts there.